In other words, just because you can light up, it doesn’t mean you should.

“Marijuana remains on the NCAA’s list of banned substances, so if you test positive for it, or any illegal substance, you’re done for a year,” CSU-Pueblo Athletic Director Joe Folda said. “Pot is just like steroids in that regard.”

There is one caveat: The NCAA doesn’t test for street drugs, including marijuana, at the Division II level unless it is the postseason.

CSU-Pueblo, however, has its own drug-testing policy. And street drugs are part of that screening, Folda said.

“We have a three strikes and you’re out policy,” Folda said. “And we do that for two reasons. First, we hope to deter kids from using street drugs, or any drugs for that matter. Second, if a kid turns up positive, we want to find out if there’s a bigger problem and we can get that kid some help.”

The first positive test, or strike one, earns the offender a trip to the counselor’s office. Folda said counselors look for underlying causes for a positive test and make the student-athlete and the school aware.

“All of our tests are random, but if you test positive, you’re automatically tested the next time around,” Folda said.

If the next test is clean, the student-athlete returns to the random pool.

A second positive test earns more counseling and a spot on the bench. Guilty parties must sit out 25 percent of their regular-season games.

A third positive test equals suspension from the program, Folda said.

The current drug-testing policy, modeled after the program at CSU in Fort Collins, has been in effect for two-plus seasons now.

“We’ve never had a kid get a second positive test,” Folda said. “And I hope we never do.”